Heard but ignored

Alan Osborn spoke to Marta Andreasen about her time in Brussels and her views on the present state of book-keeping in the Commission.

Few whistleblowers have hit the headlines as often as accountant Marta Andreasen , who was suspended by the European Commission in 2002 after disclosing serious weaknesses in its book-keeping system and who has now been formally sacked. Of all those who have taken the brave and often lonely path of public disclosure, Ms Andreasen, as the Commission’s former chief accounting officer, is by far the most senior. She is also a tough and articulate woman. But could it be argued that her allegations would never have received such wide publicity had the Commission’s accountancy system not been so seriously flawed in the first place.